Solo Heart
by spobydelights
Summary: "Don't. Don't walk away from me. I'm serious, don't do it." Suddenly, her face changed. "As a matter of fact, go ahead. I don't need you. I don't need love." Spoby AU.
1. Prologue

Hey, its me again, lol. I got this idea for a story while I was supposed to be doing homework and decided to go through with it. Please leave a review. This is just the prologue by the way.

**Disclaimer: I do not own PLL or Characters** :'(

* * *

Spencer had always been alone her whole life. Her family was there but they weren't emotionally invested in her. The only time she got recognition was for her academic excellence. She doesn't even know how sister even made it through without having a breakdown. Spencer sure had many in the privacy of bedroom. Spencer couldn't have got out of there any quicker. As soon as she got accepted into Emveldee College for Law in New York, she took the chance. Her parents wanted her to follow their steps in being lawyers, and she wanted to rebel, but she actually liked it. She loved working on cases and defending what she thought was right. It happened to be her parents' only suggestion that she took.

When she left, she didn't bring any reminders from home. She wanted to start over. Leave her life of loneliness and find companionship in the city. It hasn't been easy finding people she genuinely liked, but she did find one pixie sized girl in her college that she took a liking to. Aria Montgomery.

Aria was a doe-eyed brunette, who was bazar but in a down to earth way. She wore the weirdest outfits and accessories, loved art and photography, and had the best personality. Aria and Spencer could connect on many levels. They both shared the same sense of sarcasm and love of literature. The second year of college, Aria and Spencer bought an apartment together in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn. It was a tiny two bedroom, one bathroom apartment, but they loved it. Spencer especially loved it because she had somewhere to actually call home. Even though they had different schedules, with work and school, the two girls still made time for each other. Which is why their friendship is stronger than any relationship Spencer has had in her life, romantic or platonic.

Spencer was sound asleep, the city may not have slept, but she needed it. Working as a waitress part time on the weekends and school three days of the week, really took a toll on her. Spencer would have remained asleep but she heard a noise in the kitchen. She squinted at her bedside clock and saw it was 1:00 AM. Aria must have just gotten back from dinner with her boyfriend, Ezra. If she stayed out that late, it must have been a pretty good time, Spencer thought to herself. That was, until she her muffled sobs. Spencer ventured into the living room to see her tiny friend on the couch, hugging a pillow.

"Aria?" Spencer called out into the dimly lit room, the only thing allowing her to see was the candle she had forgotten to blow out before she went to bed.

Aria didn't reply, but her sobs ceased. She tried to be quiet, but Spencer could still hear her sniffles. Spencer walked over and sat down next to Aria. She wrapped her arm around her friend, and instantly Aria fell into her embrace and started crying again. Spencer sat there for a while, consoling her friend and waiting for her to explain what happened. Spencer hoped nobody had been injured, or worse, died. Spencer hated death. Her grandmother died when she was ten years old. Her grandmother was the only one who seemed to care about her, her immediate family didn't give her the time of day. Ever since then, she hated anything that had to do with death. She avoided funerals, hospitals, and cemeteries.

She felt Aria began to get up and she took this as the moment to ask what happened. The smaller girl fiddled with an invisible string on her shirt before she finally replied.

"Well... Ezra cheated on me. You know the dinner we were supposed to have tonight? The surprise one I planned?" Aria paused and looked Spencer in the eye. It was ruined when I was greeted with him coming through the door, kissing an Scarlett Johansen look alike. I didn't even give him a chance to explain, I just grabbed my stuff and stormed out."

Spencer nodded but then another thought crossed her mind. "Where were you all this time?"

"I was driving around town to blow off steam. I didn't want to come here and wake you up, which I ended up doing anyway. Sorry, by the way" Aria said quietly. "I'm gonna go to bed, see you in the morning."

Spencer sat there, pondering what went wrong in her friend's relationship. They seemed perfect two days ago. They seemed madly in love. And now here was Aria, obviously heartbroken and furious. Spencer couldnt imagine that happening to herself. She wouldn't even put herself through it. A relationship? She didn't need it, she had the love of her friend Aria. She had law school to worry about. Falling in love is a big no-no. Especially looking at her parent's failure of marriage. Her dad even had a child with someone else while he was married to her mother! Spencer vowed to herself right then. She would not be like Aria. _She would not fall in love and she most definitely would not get her heart broken._


	2. Chapter 1

_authors note: lol so i hope you guys like the first chapter of this! i have no idea where im going with this so leave ideas! ill also be updating my other story, Not Everything Is Black and White, very soon! please leave a review :)_

* * *

"Spencer?" Aria called out into the apartment as she walked in, dropping her groceries on the kitchen table.

Spencer came out of her bedroom, still in her pajamas with her hair in a messy bun. She looked at Aria and raised a brow. Aria knew Friday's were her relaxation days since she didn't have school or work.

"Hanna, wants me to go with her and her boyfriend, Travis, to this club tonight. But I don't want to third wheel, so will you please come?" Aria made puppy eyes, ones that were very hard to resist.

Hanna was a girl who was at their college, who majored in psychology with Aria, and minored in fashion/business. Aria introduced Spencer to Hanna this year and they hit it off. Even though the two were nothing alike, they got along pretty well. Spencer enjoyed her inappropriate humor and eye for fashion design.

Spencer furrowed her brow. "Wouldn't I just be fourth wheeling then?"

"But, we'll be together wheeling." Aria clasped her hands together and pouted her lip. "Plus, there will be many hot guys, one of which you can take home for the night."

"Okay, you know I can't resist that face. And a guy sounds tempting, so I'll go."

Spencer hated commitment. Ever since Aria's relationship went down the drain and her parent's failure of a marriage, she promised not to get committed. But just because she hated commitment, doesn't mean she hated having guys in her bed with her for the night. She'd occasionally go to the club, bring home or go home with someone, and they'd have a one night stand. After their time was over, she would never see them again, which was perfect for her. Yes, she was promiscuous and she had no problem admitting it.

"Great, we'll meet them there at 10:00, so be ready by 9:00." Aria said before she went into the room, probably to get ready.

Spencer looked at the clock and groaned, it was 8:23 now, so she'd have to rush. Being that she already showered, she went into her room and pulled out her clothes. She sorted through many before she had the perfect outfit. A strapless, royal blue peplum shirt with a pair of black skinny jeans that highlighted her miles of legs. She completed the outfit with a pair of black heels and her favorite pearl necklace. She decided on doing her hair and makeup in her room, knowing Aria would take long in the bathroom. She curled her hair in large ringlets and put on simple makeup, a little bit more than she'd wear on a regular. She looked in the mirror and smiled to herself at her final look.

"Spence! The cab is here!" Spencer heard Aria's voice call out from the hallway. She grabbed her purse and jacket, then made her way out the door.

* * *

When they reached the club, Hanna and Travis were already there. They had their own small booth, only big enough to fit the four of them. Spencer had to admit, she was glad she came. The place was full of life and the drinks they mixed were amazing. She wasn't sure what she was drinking, some fruity drink mixed with Vodka, probably. She didn't care, she came to have a good time because that's what twenty year-old college girls did.

"So Spencer, who are you hooking up with tonight?" Hanna gushed. "Ooh, he's cute!" She said pointing to a guy in the corner who was by himself drinking his sorrows away. Travis looked at her with his mouth mockingly open and waved at her. "Oh, not cuter than you though." She added with a kiss on his cheek.

"Yeah, he's cute." Spencer said absentmindedly, as she spotted a guy across the room talking to his friend. She couldn't really see his face but he damn sure was cute from over here. Breaking Spencer out of her stare, Aria slammed her glass on the table after emptying the contents of it into her mouth.

"Let's dance, Spence" the tiny girl slurred. Before Spencer could say anything, she was pulling her onto the dance floor.

Aria and Spencer twirled around each other for a while, until Aria started dancing with some other guy. Spencer took this as her queue to get another drink. She made her way to the bar and sat down. She was only tipsy, therefore she could still read the menu. She studied it for a while before she heard the voice of a stranger.

"Need help?" The handsome man she spotted from earlier chuckled.

When she looked up at him she was blown away. Up close, he was even better looking. He was boyishly handsome with the most gorgeous blue eyes. His lips were two pink arches that she'd have no problem kissing. He was wearing a fitting black shirt, and from his buff arms she could tell he worked out. She realized she was checking him out and her cheeks turned a shade of pink.

"No, just browsing the menu," she said over the music.

"You know what tastes good here? Sex on the Beach." He pointed out.

She seemed to have only heard the last part because she smirked, "sex on the beach? We just met! And besides, it's not that hot out in April."

He laughed. A real laugh that brought a smile to her face. The sound of his laughter made her feel tingles inside her stomach as if she was a little girl with a crush. "Uh... I think we should at least know each other's names before we get intimate." He joked. "I'll start, my name is Toby. Toby Cavanaugh." He stuck his hand out.

"And I'm Spencer Hastings." She smiled as she shook his hand. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't feel electricity. Why was this happening to her? All the other guys she met at clubs didn't make her feel this way. Hell, they didn't even bother to learn her name before or after getting in her pants. Maybe it was something about his aura? He seemed like a nice guy with a big heart, who was also drop dead gorgeous. But Spencer knew better, looks could be deceiving.

"So, are you here by yourself?" He asked, making polite conversation.

"No, I'm with the short brunette over there." She turned around to point at Aria who was... _kissing some guy?_ Spencer hadn't seen her kiss someone since her breakup with Ezra two months ago. "Are you here by yourself?"

"Nope, I'm actually with the guy you're brunette friend is kissing." Toby chuckled at the coincidence. "I don't even know why I'm here. He, Jake, always leaves me and finds some other adventure when we go out." Spencer shrugged and smirked, knowing the feeling since Aria does the exact same.

She stared out into the crowd, watching the nightlife. She could feel him staring at the side of her head but pretended not to notice. For some reason, he was making her feel nervous. A good kind of nervous. She was attracted to him, no doubt. She knew she had to bring him home tonight. As a matter of fact, she wanted to bring him home right now.

"Hey, um, it's pretty loud in here. Do you want to go back to my place?" Spencer said as she eyed him up and down, trying to make the message clear.

He looked at his watch and grimaced. "Actually I have work tomorrow morning, I should probably get going. But I do want to meet again. Would you like to exchange numbers?" He smiled.

She nodded and wrote down her number while he wrote down his. He handed it to her, their fingers lightly brushing. She laughed awkwardly.

"Hey, actually would you like to go out for lunch tomorrow?" She pondered it, she most definitely wanted to see him again.

"I have work from 9:30-5:30. What about dinner?"

"Dinner it is." He said as he looked at his watch again. "Sorry, I have to go. See you tomorrow though?" He grinned.

"See you tomorrow."

She watched him leave before setting out to find Aria. Aria was still with the same guy, Toby's friend, but this time they were seductively grinding on the dance floor. Spencer face palmed before looking for Hanna and her boyfriend. She saw them still at the booth, their tongues practically shoving down each other's throats. Spencer felt a pang of jealousy. She wanted someone to have fun with but Toby left. And the thought of taking someone home tonight that wasn't Toby, surprising didn't appeal to her.

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_authors note part 2: haha yeah, so i hope that wasn't too bad... ill make this more interesting as we go along ;) and seriously dont be afraid to review or give advice!_


	3. Chapter 2

Hey! Long time no see lol. sorry i've been really busy, but its spring break now so plenty of time for updates. ill keep this short for now, here's the next chapter.

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"Here's your water. Drink up." Spencer handed Aria the glass.

Apparently, Aria had a little too much fun with Toby's friend, whose name neither of them bothered to remember. All that dancing and alcohol led to a bad morning hang over. Spencer laughed to herself, usually they both had them together but there was a strange force keeping her from drinking last night.

Spencer handed a hot plate to Aria, topped with a good breakfast. Aria mumbled a "thank you" and continued sipping her beverage.

Spencer was happy that she had fun... with a guy. Usually, Aria would drink and have fun solo. Spencer always knew it was because of her break up with Ezra but never said anything. She'd rather not have an unpleasant trip down memory lane with Aria.

"Spencer, why don't you have a hang over? I thought we were in this together!" Aria exclaimed, jokingly. But then she grew suspicious. "No... seriously, why don't you have a hang over?"

"I wasn't feeling it last night." Spencer shrugged. "Next time though, we could be hang over homies!" sarcasm bled through her voice. Aria still looked suspicious but apparently she needed to focus on her headache.

Spencer checked her watch and panic graced her features, she was undoubtedly going to be late for work. And Spencer Hastings doesn't do _late_. She ran out the kitchen and into the bathroom to shower. She hurried out and put on her uniform. She grabbed her keys and ran out the door without even stopping to say goodbye to Aria. Not that Aria would have replied, she was practically sleeping on top of her plate of food. Spencer zoomed her car past stop light after stop light, reaching the restaurant just in time.

She was a part time waitress at a rustic hole in the wall. She worked only two days out of the week, Saturday and Sunday, from 9:30 to 5:30. Spencer had to admit, she loved her job. Even though she wanted to be lawyer, this job wasn't so bad for now. The pay was good, the tips were great, and her co-workers were cool characters.

The brunette quickly parked and ran in, bumping into a girl about her age who she'd never seen before. Strangely, she was wearing the uniform of the restaurant's workers.

"Sorry." Spencer said, momentarily forgetting she had to clock in. "I've never seen you before...?"

The girl smiled politely, "I'm Emily. Today's my first day on the job." _Oh. Well that explained it_. She was very beautiful though. She had bronze skin and chocolate brown eyes that had long lashes around them. Her dark, raven-colored hair was long and fell in waves down her back. The restaurant waitresses' uniform, a white button up shirt and black skirt, showed off her perfectly toned legs.

"Hi, I'm Spencer." She smiled. The two girls shook hands and Spencer went off to clock in.

* * *

The day was going by pretty slow, or maybe it was because she was waiting for her date with Toby. Spencer had to admit, she really wanted to see him again. He already texted her, confirming the plans for their date. Well she preferred not to call it a date, more like just having dinner with a friend. Dates lead to dating and dating leads to marriage. Spencer did not plan on getting married ever.

"See you tomorrow, right?" Emily said as she walked out of the employee's room. She smiled, gave Spencer a very awkward one armed hug and departed from the restaurant. Spencer really liked her. she had a cool vibe, someone who'd everyone like. Even after one day, Spencer could tell that she would make a pretty good friend.

About twenty minutes later, Spencer looked at the clock and almost cried out from joy. She was finally being let out from her boring shift (it was unusually empty today) and could return home to get ready. She drove her car home just as fast as she had drove it to the restaurant. When she arrived home, Aria and Hanna were on the couch reading a gossip magazine.

"It never fails, huh? You guys love gossip." Spencer chuckled.

Hanna threw a chip at her, which Spencer dodged before it hit her face. "Well, some people like to stay on top of the latest news. Do you know how hard it is to be a fashion designer if you don't know the do's and don't's of the red carpet?!" The blonde finished her monologue and returned back to reading with Aria.

Aria and Spencer shared a look and laughed. Leave it up to Hanna to be comically melodramatic. Spencer continued into her room, to pick out her outfit for the dinner. After about ten minutes of looking, she gave up. She called Hanna into the room, knowing the blonde would be ecstatic to help with anything fashion related.

"Han, can you help me pick out an outfit for this d-... dinner I have tonight." Spencer caught herself before she said date. She knew Hanna and Aria would make such a big deal over something like this.

Hanna looked suspiciously at her before she shrugged. "Casual or Formal?" She questioned. Spencer shrugged in reply, she had never been to the restaurant that Toby picked for night. Hanna rolled her eyes before she skimmed the closet. In less than five minutes, Hanna had an outfit on the bed. She settled on a black spaghetti strap dress, seeing as it was still warm in September. She paired it with a sheer, navy cardigan and black, pointed-toe high heels. The outfit on Spencer looked amazing.

Aria walked in the room, a questioning look on her features. "Where are you going? You look pretty good, by the way."

Spencer turned around to face her. "I have dinner plans with... _a friend_." Was her really her friend? She barely knew him aside from their twenty minute conversation in the bar. "And the outfit was Hanna's choice, of course." Hanna flicked her hand in a way that said _Oh stop it._

"Who's the friend?" Aria furthered her questions. Hanna seemed to be on the same page because they were exchanging looks.

"His name is Toby, we sort of met yesterday at the club. He's friends with the guy you were with last night."

Aria and Hanna exchanged another glance. "Wait, the hottie with the blue eyes?" Hanna asked after a moment of silence. The other two girls looked at her. "What? I may have Travis but he was still hot."

"Spencer Hastings on a date? Wow, never thought I'd see the day." Aria mused.

Spencer rolled her eyes. Maybe she should of said she was going to a school function or something. Then they wouldn't be interested and she wouldn't have to go through this. "You didn't see the day yet either because this is not a date. It's just a dinner with someone who I found interesting last night."

Hanna and Aria looked unconvinced. "If you'll excuse me, my cab is here." Spencer grabbed her purse and continued down stairs to her cab.

Thirty minutes later, Spencer arrived at the restaurant. It was semi-formal, therefore she wasn't over or under dressed. She was sort of early, which was normal. She never showed up late to anything, lateness was just too unprofessional for her liking. She walked inside and her eyes searched around the tables for Toby. She spotted him in the back, looking out the window. She walked over and waved at him.

Her turned to look at her and his eyes lit up. "Hey, you're early" he said, standing up. He shook her hand awkwardly, not knowing what to do since they literally just met yesterday, and pulled out her chair for her.

"That's normal for me. I hate being late." She said as she sat down.

"Same. Being late is just so..." He struggled to find the word.

"Unprofessional?" She finished his sentence.

"Exactly." He smiled. "I hope you like this restaurant, it's one of my favorites. Just please don't tell me that you don't like Italian food or we might have a bit of a problem." He joked.

"I love Italian food. It's actually my favorite type of food, if I'm being honest here." Spencer smiled back at him.

"I can tell you and I are going to get along just fine." Toby laughed.

* * *

After about two hours of eating, talking, and joking, they started to wrap things up. In these two hours, Spencer learned a lot about him. He was a year older than her but also in college. He was studying to be an architect at Howard Gilligan University. He was currently working in construction until he could start his own business. He lived in an apartment near his college with his two best-friends, Jake (Aria's guy from the club) and Caleb. She also learned that they had many things in common, such as their love of literature and favorite band, The Secrets.

In return, Toby learned a lot about her too. He learned about her majoring in Law at Emveldee College. He learned that she was hoping to grow up and be a criminal lawyer. He learned that she was very intelligent and confident. Not once did she doubt her self or dumb herself down in any of their conversations.

"How are you getting home?" He asked, being the gentleman he naturally was.

"I took a cab here so I figured I'd take one back too." She said, digging in her purse for her phone.

"I could drive you." Toby replied. "I mean, if you want me to."

Spencer considered this for a moment. "It wouldn't be too much trouble?" He shook his head. "Well, then okay."

He guided her to his car and opened her car door for her before walking around to his side of the car. A half an hour later, he pulled up in front of her apartment building. Spencer had to admit she was sad, she didn't want the to end. She sat idly in his car for a minute before getting out. He got out behind her to walk her upstairs. He was in fact a perfect gentleman. They reached her door and she turned back to him.

"I had a great time tonight. You're a really fun person, despite having the boring name of Toby." She joked and he shook his head, laughing.

"I'll have you know, Toby was on the list of least boring names for this year." He melodramatically announced. "But jokes aside, I had fun too. Despite being out with a future lawyer."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Spencer laughed, her mouth comically hanging open.

"Nothing, nothing." He singsonged. "I just heard that they're stick-in-the-muds. But maybe we could go out again, maybe for breakfast this time. I know a place you'll love if you liked this one."

"Sure, just text me with the details." She said and suddenly the atmosphere turned awkward. This was usually the time where people would share a good-night kiss on dates, but she didn't want to classify this as a date. She thought about kissing him, who cares about it being classified as a date. It's not like she was going to marry him. But still, somewhere in the back of her mind told her not to do it. She settled for giving him a parting smile, ignoring her urge to kiss his perfectly pink lips.

"Good night, Spencer."

"Good night." She said softly with a smile before entering her house.

* * *

hope you liked it! ill try to make the chapters more spoby centered as time goes on. also, all the bands, colleges, and restaurants are made up so you can't look them up lol. but please review! i feel more motivated to write when you guys do.

PS: everything i did is for a reason, so i hope you liked emily's introduction ;) we'll see more of her over the next few chapters


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